Prof Mike Nicholls

Position/s:	Academic Staff School of Psychology
Phone:	work+61 8 82012425
Email:	mike.nicholls@flinders.edu.au
Location:	Social Sciences North (351)
Postal address:	GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Qualifications

B.Arch.St BA(Hons) PhD(Cantab)

Research and supervision

Research expertise

Cognitive science

Research interests

My research interests fall within the realm of cognitive neuroscience, which examines cognitive processes and how they relate to brain function. One specific interest is centred on the study of asymmetries in behavior and perception, which are tied to the lateralisation of brain function. Topics include handedness, spatial attention in clinical and healthy populations, language and facial expression and perception. I am also interested in how spatial attention is controlled by the brain and the links between attention in the various sensory modalities and spatial / representational dimensions.

Potential PhD Projects:
(1) investigating the impact of social context upon our perception and action in the world
(2) examining rehabilitation treatments of the neurological disorder spatial neglect
(3) investigating how language affects our perception in space
(4) handedness and its relation to personality and cognitive ability
(5) the role of eye movements in attentional asymmetries.

Supervisory interests

Attention
Cognitive neuroscience
Laterality

RHD research supervision

Current

Principal supervisor: Cognitive neuroscience (4);

Publications

Refereed journal articles

Churches, O., Callahan, R., Michalski, D., Brewer, N., Turner, E., Keage, H., et al. (2012). How academics face the world: A study of 5829 homepage pictures. PLoS One, 7(7), p.e38940. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038940.

Giummarra, M., Bradshaw, J., Hilti, L., Nicholls, M. and Brugger, P. (2012). Paralyzed by desire: A new type of body integrity identity disorder. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 25(1), pp.34-41. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/WNN.0b013e318249865a.

Loetscher, T., Nicholls, M., Brodtmann, A., Thomas, N.A.M. and Brugger, P. (2012). Disentangling input and output-related components of spatial neglect. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, p.176. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00176.

Nicholls, M., Thomas, N.A.M., Loetscher, T., Wignall, S.J., Yates, M., Forte, J., et al. (2012). The relationship between vertical stimulation and horizontal attentional asymmetries. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 65(12), pp.2384-2396. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2012.688979.

Thomas, N.A.M., Loetscher, T. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Central fixations with rightward deviations: saccadic eye movements on the landmark task. Experimental Brain Research, 220(1), pp.29-39. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3113-9.

Thomas, N.A.M., Loetscher, T., Clode, D. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Right-wing politicians prefer the emotional left. PLoS One, 7(5), p.e36552. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036552.

Giummarra, M., Bradshaw, J., Nicholls, M., Hilti, L. and Brugger, P. (2011). Body integrity identity disorder: Deranged body processing, right front-parietal dysfunction, and phenomenological experience of body incongruity. Neuropsychology Review, 21(4), pp.320-333. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11065-011-9184-8.

Giummarra, M.J., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Nicholls, M.E.R., Gibson, S.J., Chou, M. and Bradshaw, J. (2011). The menacing phantom: What pulls the trigger? European Journal of Pain, 15(7), p.691. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpain.2011.01.005.

Nicholls, M., Forte, J., Loetscher, T., Orr, C., Yates, M. and Bradshaw, J. (2011). Near, yet so far: The effect of pictorial cues on spatial attention. Brain and Cognition, 76(3), pp.349-352. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2011.04.006.

Yates, M. and Nicholls, M. (2011). Somatosensory prior entry assessed with temporal order judgments and simultaneity judgments. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 73(5), pp.1586-1603. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13414-011-0117-7.

Show all publications

Refereed journal articles

Loftus, A. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Testing the activation-orientation account of spatial attentional asymmetries using transcranial direct current stimulation. Neuropsychologia, 50(11), pp.2573-2576. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.07.003.

Lenggenhager, B., Loetscher, T., Kavan, N., Pallich, G., Brodtmann, A., Nicholls, M., et al. (2012). Paradoxical extension into the contralesional hemispace in spatial neglect. Cortex, 48(10), pp.1320-1328. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2011.10.003.

Johnston, D.W., Nicholls, M.E.R., Shah, M. and Shields, M.A. (2012). Handedness, health and cognitive development: Evidence from children in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY SERIES A-STATISTICS IN SOCIETY. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-985X.2012.01074.x.

Yates, M., Loetscher, T. and Nicholls, M. (2012). A generalized magnitude system for space, time, and quantity? A cautionary note. Journal of Vision, 12(7), p.9. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/12.7.9.

Nicholls, M., Johnston, D. and shields, michael. (2012). Adverse birth factors predict cognitive ability, but not hand preference. Neuropsychology, 26(5), pp.578-587. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0029151.

Ishii, Y., Okubo, M., Nicholls, M. and Imai, H. (2011). Lateral biases and reading direction: A dissociation between aesthetic preference and line bisection. Brain and Cognition, 75(3), pp.242-247. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2010.12.005.

Giummarra, M., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Nicholls, M., Gibson, S., Chou, M. and Bradshaw, J. (2011). Maladaptive plasticity imprinting of past experiences onto phantom limb schemata. Clinical Journal of Pain, 27(8), pp.691-698. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/AJP.0b013e318216906f.

Giummarra, M., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Nicholls, M. and Bradshaw, J. (2011). The third hand: Ownership of a rubber hand in addition to the existing (phantom) hand. Cortex, 47(8), pp.998-1000. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2011.02.010.

Chapman, H.L., Grimshaw, G. and Nicholls, M. (2011). Going beyond students: An association between mixed-hand preference and schizotypy subscales in a general population. Psychiatry Research, 187(1-2), pp.89-93. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2010.11.019.

Josev, E., Forte, J. and Nicholls, M. (2011). Left of centre: Asymmetries for the horizontal vertical line illusion. Psychological Research, 75(5), pp.435-443. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00426-010-0315-2.

Ren, P., Nicholls, M., Ma, Y. and Chen, L. (2011). Size matters: Non-numerical magnitude affects the spatial coding of response. PLoS One, 6(8), p.e23553. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0023553.

Nicholls, M., Lew, M., Loetscher, T. and Yates, M. (2011). The importance of response type to the relationship between temporal order and numerical magnitude. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 73(5), pp.1604-1613. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13414-011-0114-x.

Giummarra, M., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Nicholls, M., Gibson, S. and Bradshaw, J. (2010). The phantom in the mirror: A modified rubber-hand illusion in amputee and normals. Perception, 39(103), pp.103-118. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/p6519.

Giummarra, M., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Nicholls, M., Gibson, S., Chou, M. and Bradshaw, J. (2010). Corporeal awareness and proprioceptive sense of the phantom. British Journal of Psychology, 101, pp.791-808. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/000712610X492558.

Giummarra, M.J., Fitzgibbon, B.M., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Nicholls, M.E.R., Gibson, S.J. and Bradshaw, J. (2010). Ouch! My phantom leg jumps/hurts when you stab my virtual hand. Perception, 39, pp.1396-1407. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/p6582.

Loetscher, T., Bockisch, C., Nicholls, M. and Brugger, P. (2010). Eye position predicts what number you have in mind. Current Biology, 20(6), pp.264-265. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2010.01.015.

Loetscher, T., Nicholls, M., Towse, J., Bradshaw, J. and Brugger, P. (2010). Lucky numbers: Spatial neglect affects physical, but not representational, choices in a Lotto task. Cortex, 46, pp.685-690. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2009.06.010.

Nicholls, M. and McIlroy, A. (2010). Spatial cues affect mental number line bisections. Experimental Psychology, 57(4), pp.315-319. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000037.

Nicholls, M., Chapman, H.L., Loetscher, T. and Grimshaw, G. (2010). The relationship between hand preference, hand performance, and general cognitive ability. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 16, pp.585-592. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S135561771000084.

Nicholls, M.E.R., Rademacher, M. and Loetscher, T. (2010). Miss to the right: The effect of attentional asymmetries of goal-kicking. PLoS One, 5(8), pp.1-6. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012363.

Nicholls, M.E.R., Hadgraft, N.T., Chapman, H.L., Loftus, A.M., Robertson, J. and Bradshaw, J. (2010). A hit-and-miss investigation of asymmetries in wheelchair navigation. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 72(6), pp.1576-1590. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.6.1576.

Loftus, A., Vijayakumar, N. and Nicholls, M. (2009). Prism adaptation overcomes pseudoneglect for the greyscales task. Cortex, 45(4), pp.537-543. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2007.12.011.

Loftus, A., Nicholls, M., Mattingley, J., Chapman, H.L. and Bradshaw, J. (2009). Pseudoneglect for the bisection of mental number lines. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 62(5), pp.925-945. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470210802305318.

Jarick, M., Dixon, M., Maxwell, E., Nicholls, M. and Smilek, D. (2009). The ups and downs (and lefts and rights) of synaesthetic number forms: Validation from spatial cueing and SNARC-types tasks. Cortex, 45(10), pp.1190-1199. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2009.04.015.

Johnston, D., Nicholls, M., Shah, M. and Shields, M. (2009). Nature's experiment? Handedness and early childhood development. Demography, 46(2), pp.281-301. [online]. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831280/pdf/dem-46-0281.pdf.

Yates, M. and Nicholls, M. (2009). Somatosensory prior entry. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 71(4), pp.847-859. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/AAP.71.4.847.

Loftus, A., Nicholls, M., Mattingley, J. and Bradshaw, J. (2008). Left to right: Representational biases for numbers and the effect of visuomotor adaptation. Cognition, 107(3), pp.1048-1058. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2007.09.007.

Loftus, A., Nicholls, M., Mattingley, J. and Bradshaw, J. (2008). Numerical processing overcomes left neglect for the greyscales task. Neuroreport, 19(8), pp.835-838. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1097/WNR.0b013e3282ff0fa8.

Nicholls, M., Kramer, A. and Loftus, A. (2008). Pseudoneglect for mental alphabet lines is affected by prismatic adaptation. Experimental Brain Research, 191(1), pp.109-115. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00221-008-1502-x.

Nicholls, M., Loftus, A. and Gevers, W. (2008). Look, no hands: A perceptual task shows that number magnitude induces of attention. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 15(2), pp.413-418. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/PBR.15.2.413.

Nicholls, M., Loftus, A., Orr, C. and Barre, N. (2008). Rightward collisions and their association with pseudoneglect. Brain and Cognition, 68, pp.166-170. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2008.04.003.

Nicholls, M., Orr, C., Yates, M. and Loftus, A. (2008). A new means of measuring index/ring finger (2D:4D) ratio and its association with gender and hand preference. Laterality, 13(1), pp.71-91. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13576500701751287.

Okubo, M. and Nicholls, M. (2008). Hemispheric asymmetries for temporal information processing: Transient detection versus sustained. Brain and Cognition, 66, pp.168-175. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2007.07.002.

Nicholls, M. and Loftus, A. (2007). Pseudoneglect and neglect for mental alphabet lines. Brain Research, 1152, pp.130-138. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2007.03.036.

Nicholls, M., Loftus, A., Mayer, K. and Mattingley, J. (2007). Things that go bump in the right: The effect of unimanual activity on rightward collisions. Neuropsychologia, 45, pp.1122-1126. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.07.015.

Nicholls, M. and Searle, D. (2006). Asymmetries for the visual expression and perception of speech. Brain and Language, 97(3), pp.322-331. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2005.11.007.

Nicholls, M., Orr, C., Okubo, M. and Loftus, A. (2006). Satisfaction guaranteed: The effect of spatial biases on responses to Likert Scales. Psychological Science, 17(12), pp.1027-1028. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01822.x.

Nicholls, M., Smith, A., Mattingley, J. and Bradshaw, J. (2006). The effect of body and environment-centred coordinates on free-viewing perceptual asymmetries for vertical and horizontal stimuli. Cortex, 42(3), pp.336-346. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70360-5.

Okubo, M. and Nicholls, M. (2006). A stimulus-dependent dissociation between the cerebral hemispheres under free-viewing conditions. Experimental Brain Research, 172(1), pp.49-56. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s00221-005-0303-8.

Lindell, A., Nicholls, M., Kwantes, P. and Castles, A. (2005). Sequential processing in hemispheric word recognition: The impact of initial letter discriminability on the OUP naming effect. Brain and Language, 93(2), pp.160-172. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2004.09.006.

Nicholls, M., Mattingley, J. and Bradshaw, J. (2005). The effect of strategy on pseudoneglect for luminance judgements. Cognitive Brain Research, 25(1), pp.71-77. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2005.04.006.

Orr, C. and Nicholls, M. (2005). The nature and contribution of space- and object-based attentional biases to free-viewing perceptual asymmetries. Experimental Brain Research, 162(3), pp.384-393. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s00221-004-2196-3.

Okubo, M. and Nicholls, M. (2005). Hemispheric asymmetry in temporal resolution: contribution of the magnocellular pathway. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 12(4), pp.755-759. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF03196769.

Nicholls, M., Orr, C. and Lindell, A. (2005). Magical ideation and its relation to lateral preference. Laterality, 10(6), pp.503-515. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13576500442000265.

Okubo, M. and Nicholls, M. (2005). Flexible contrast gain control in the right hemisphere. Brain and Cognition, 59(3), pp.269-276. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2005.07.007.

Nicholls, M., Wolfgang, B.J., Clode, D. and Lindell, A.K. (2002). The effect of left and right poses on the expression of facial emotion. Neuropsychologia, 40(10), pp.1662-1665.

Nicholls, M., Clode, D., Lindell, A.K. and Wood, A.G. (2002). Which cheek to turn? The effect of gender and emotion expressivity on posing behaviour. Brain and Cognition, 48, pp.480-484.

Refereed conference papers

Lim, V., Bradshaw, J., Nicholls, M. and Altenmuller, E. (2005). Enhanced P1-N1 auditory evoked potential in patients with musicians' cramp. In Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: The Neurosciences and Music II: From Perception to Performance. The Neurosciences and Music II: From Perception to Performance. pp. 349-359. [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1196/annals.1360.029.

Journal articles

Giummarra, M., Bradshaw, J., Nicholls, M., Georgiou-Karistianis, N. and Gibson, S. (2011). A sleeping phantom leg awakened following hemicolectomy, thrombosis, and chemotherapy: A case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, 5(203). [online]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-5-203.

Conference publications

Forte, J., Spence, C. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Individual differences in spatially dependent and non-spatially dependent cueing effects in pseudoneglect. In 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference, Sydney, Australia. 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference, Sydney, Australia.

Loetscher, T., Baumann, H., Tamagni, C., Nicholls, M. and Brugger, P. (2012). Neglect of early relative to late events after right-hemisphere damage. In 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference, Sydney, Australia. 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference.

Yates, M., Vicario, C., Loetscher, T. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Prismatic lenses influence the magnitude of numbers selected in a random number generation task. In 5th International Conference on Spatial Cognition, Rome, Italy. 5th International Conference on Spatial Cognition.

Yates, M., Vicario, C., Loetscher, T. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Prismatic lenses influence number choices in a random number generation task. In 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference, Sydney, Australia. 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference.

Thomas, N., Loetscher, T. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Central fixations with rightward deviations: Saccadic eye movements in pseudoneglect. In 39th Australian Experimantal Psychology Conference, Sydney, Australia. 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference.

Thomas, N., Loetscher, T. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Central fixations with rightward deviations: Saccadic eye movements on the landmark task. In 3rd Annual North Sea Meeting on Brain Asymmetry, Ghent, Belgium. 3rd Annual North Sea Meeting on Brain Asymmetry.

Nicholls, M. and Lew, M. (2012). Time and relative numbers in space: The association may be a product of response bias. In 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference, Sydney, Australia. 39th Australian Experimental Psychology Conference.

Loetscher, T., Tamagni, C., Baumann, H., Nicholls, M. and Brugger, J. (2012). Impaired memory for early relative to late events in spatial neglect. In 5th International Conference on Spatial Cognition, Rome, Italy. 5th International Conference on Spatial Cognition.

McIlroy, A., Wood, A.G., Anderson, V. and Nicholls, M. (2012). Social functioning in Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (ACC): Investigating the role of facial emotion processing using cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging techniques. In Annual College of Clinical Neuropsychology Conference, Launceston, Tasmania. Annual College of Clinical Neuropsychology Conference.

Nicholls, M. (2012). An investigation of asymmetries in spatial attention and wheelchair navigation. In 3rd North Sea Meeting on Brain Asymmetries, Ghent, Belguim. 3rd North Sea Meeting on Brain Asymmetries.

Loetscher, T., Baumann, H., Tamagni, C., Nicholls, M. and Brugger, P. (2011). Neglect of early relative to late events after right-hemisphere damange. In Mid-Year Meeting of the International Neuropsychology Society, Auckland, New Zealand. Mid-Year Meeting of the International Neuropsychology Society.

Forte, J. and Nicholls, M. (2011). Pseudo neglect depends on the 3-D spatial configuration of a line bisection stimulus. In EPC Meeting, Auckland, New Zealand. EPC Meeting.

Orr, C. and Nicholls, M. (2011). The effect of face and emotional face distracters on the attentinal blink. In EPC Meeting, Auckland, New Zealand. EPC Meeting.

Orr, C. and Nicholls, M. (2011). Face processing under conditions of attentional suppression: An attentional blink study. In European Conference on Visual Perception, Toulouse, France. European Conference on Visual Perception.

Nicholls, M., Johnston, D., Shah, M. and Shields, M. (2011). The truth about left handers. In Laterality Meeting, Auckland, New Zealand. Laterality Meeting.

Yates, M., Loetscher, T. and Nicholls, M. (2011). The truth about left handers. In EPC Meeting, Auckland, New Zealand. EPC Meeting.

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Further information

For a full list of grants and publications, click here.

To visit the Brain and Cognition Laboratory webpage, click here.

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